When a prospective client asks for work samples on X, offer the closest example you have permission to share in the appropriate channel. If your best client project is confidential, do not hint at private details to make your reply sound stronger. Offer a clearly labeled self-initiated sample instead, or explain what you can discuss without showing the work. Your public reply should identify the evidence and agree on a way to share it—not publish material you have not cleared for a public thread.
Match the sample to the service they need
Read the client’s post for the deliverable they want to assess: a landing page, an email sequence, a product illustration or something else. Then identify what the sample should demonstrate. For a landing-page redesign, that might be your approach to page structure and visual hierarchy. A polished logo project is less useful if it does not show the work the client is considering.
Choose one strong match first. Be precise about your contribution if the work was collaborative: “I designed the page layout” tells the client more than “I made this site” if others wrote the copy and built the page. If the post is too vague to identify a relevant example, ask what kind of work they want to see rather than sending an indiscriminate portfolio.
Check both the work and the sharing channel
Before selecting a client project, check what you are allowed to show and to whom. Permission to share a design privately with a prospect is not necessarily permission to post the file, name the client or describe results in a public X thread. Check the relevant agreement or approval for the specific material: screenshots, drafts, identifying details and any figures you might mention. If the scope of permission is unclear, keep the material out of your reply until you can confirm it.
A self-initiated sample can demonstrate how you work when client projects cannot be shown, but label it as self-initiated. Do not present a concept redesign as a paid commission or attach client outcomes to a project that had no client. It may prove design judgment or craft; it cannot prove how a real client’s page performed.
| Available example | What to check | Resulting action |
|---|---|---|
| Relevant client project | Permission for the exact material and intended channel | Offer it through the permitted channel; post it publicly only if public sharing is cleared. |
| Relevant but confidential client project | Whether any specific, non-identifying description is permitted | Do not show the work. Describe only what you may disclose, or choose another example. |
| Self-initiated sample | Whether it demonstrates the requested skill without implying client results | Offer it as a self-initiated example and explain what it shows. |
Make the choice, then answer in the public thread
Consider a fictional designer replying to: “Looking for a landing-page designer. Can you show examples of redesigns?” The designer has three options: a relevant client redesign approved for sharing privately with prospective clients, another redesign that is confidential, and a self-initiated redesign the designer may show publicly. The first project is the best evidence of client work, but its approval does not cover public posting. The confidential project stays out of the conversation. The self-initiated project is a useful fallback, provided it is identified accurately.
The designer’s public reply could be: “Yes—I designed a landing-page redesign for a client that’s close to what you’re asking about. I can share the approved example privately with prospective clients; I don’t have permission to post it in this thread. Would you like to arrange a suitable way to view it? I also have a self-initiated redesign I can show publicly if you’d rather start there.” This names the relevant evidence and its sharing limit without exposing the client, promising results or implying that the independent project was commissioned.
If the designer cannot confirm permission to share the client example even privately, that offer must change: “My client redesigns aren’t available to share. I can show you a self-initiated landing-page redesign and explain the decisions behind it.” If the client specifically needs evidence of paid client delivery, acknowledge that the independent sample does not meet that requirement rather than presenting it as equivalent. If the conversation turns to requirements or a quote, use the separate guide to scoping a service request on X.
Review a suggested reply before sending
ReachFast says it finds relevant public requests on X and prepares a reply that opens typed in the X thread; you decide whether to send it from your own account. If a request for samples appears there, compare the suggested wording with the live post and your checked examples before sending. Remove any client name, project claim, result or offer to share a file that you cannot substantiate or are not cleared to disclose. Finding the request and drafting a reply do not establish your portfolio permissions.
